Author: Larry Smith

Section Representative: Larry K. Smith, Snow College Department of Physics

The Idaho/Utah Section of AAPT had a good year in 2023, post-COVID. 

Section Meeting: We had our annual section meeting at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Idaho on April 14–15, 2023, with the ever-popular demo show in the afternoon, some telescope viewing and a planetarium show in the evening.

The next morning there was an invited talk from a biologist with ties to physics and then parallel breakout sessions. 

At the business meeting Brian Pyper ran an election to replace himself and Larry Smith was elected as the new Section Representative for 3 years. 

Next Section Meeting: Dustin Shipp is planning a section meeting at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah on March 14–15.

Short Course: Active Learning in Introductory Physics Courses: Research-Based Strategies
that Improve Student Learning (Including Virtual, Distance Learning)
See: http://pages.uoregon.edu/sokoloff/CHAUT.htm


July 29-31, 2024, Portland, Oregon

Designed for those who teach introductory physics at universities, colleges and high schools. Graduate credit will be available through the University of Oregon*

Instructors: David Sokoloff, University of Oregon and Ronald Thornton, Tufts University

Participants in this two and a half day course will be introduced to research-validated, classroom-tested strategies for each component of the introductory course that have been demonstrated to improve learning. These includeRealTime Physics (RTP) labs (including a distance-learning version), Interactive Lecture Demonstration (ILDs) (including Clicker ILDs and Home-Adapted ILDs—for distance-learning), Collaborative Problem-Solving Tutorials, and Physics with Video Analysis (PVA). Participants will be introduced to the latest, versatile data acquisition and video analysis software that—in addition to Mac OS and Windows—is compatible with Chromebooks, tablets and smartphones. Physics topics will be chosen from both semesters of introductory physics. Research on the effectiveness of these strategies will also be discussed.

Complimentary printed copies of and online access to curricula (published by Wiley and Vernier) will be distributed. (These are also available for high school use at a special price as the ABP High School E-dition.)

The course fee is $250. (Early bird registration until June 10 is $225.)

* Up to three graduate credits from the University of Oregon will be available for an additional $150/credit.

For more information and to register: http://pages.uoregon.edu/sokoloff/CHAUT.htm

David R. Sokoloff
Professor of Physics, University of Oregon

American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT)
Idaho-Utah Section

Save the Date: April 12–13, 2024

Location: Utah Valley University

Time: Friday evening through mid-afternoon Saturday

Please invite your colleagues including:

• physics teachers at the high school, college, and university level
• undergraduate and graduate students interested in teaching physics

More information coming soon!